KidStart aims to enrol more mums during pregnancy for better child development

Scheme offers help as early as prenatal stage and support continues after birth

- Goh Yan Han

As a first-time mother, Ms Siti Aisha Begum, 26, was ready to welcome any help she could get.

Hence, when she was introduced to the KidStart programme at a routine check-up at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) during her pregnancy, she did not hesitate.

At 20 weeks pregnant, she enrolled in the nationwide early childhood development programme, meant to support children aged up to six from lower-income families.

Besides learning the ropes of diaper changing and how to bathe a baby, Ms Siti, who is not working at the moment, also received support from a nurse assigned to her when she was infected with dengue and had thyroid issues during her pregnancy.

The nurse provided advice and helped to explain medical jargon, said Ms Siti, whose daughter is now about four months old. “She also helped me to track my baby’s milestones while I was pregnant, so I didn’t have to go to the doctor over small things. I could just ask her.”

KidStart, which offers help in areas such as monitoring child development, nutrition and parenting strategies, hopes to reach out to more families at the prenatal stage, when mothers are expecting, like it did with Ms Siti.

The programme has supported more than 6,200 children since it started as a pilot in 2016.

KidStart chief executive Rahayu Buang said that one area it wants to do more in is to encourage more families and children to enrol at the prenatal stage. Most of the 6,200 children had joined KidStart after they were born, she noted.